Beginner's setup guide

Build your own SpotterBoard

This guide takes you from zero to a working SpotterBoard display, step by step. No programming experience needed.

What you'll need

SpotterBoard v1 wiring diagram Shows how a power supply, the Raspberry Pi, the Adafruit Triple Matrix Bonnet, and the Waveshare LED matrix panel connect, with a separate 5V supply powering the panel only, plus a shared ground connection between the two power supplies. Pi Power Supply USB-C / micro-USB Raspberry Pi 5 / 4 / Zero 2 W 40-pin GPIO header Matrix Bonnet Adafruit Triple Bonnet Powered via GPIO LED Matrix Panel Waveshare 64x64, 2.5mm HUB75 IN port Panel Power Supply 5V DC, panel only Amperage: see documentation Power GPIO 40-pin also powers Bonnet HUB75 ribbon to Panel only Common GND link Important: Connect the negative (GND) of both supplies together. Standard certified supplies are mains- isolated, so this is safe. Data / signal 5V power Ground reference
How the power supplies, Pi, bonnet, and panel connect

Step 1 — Download Raspberry Pi Imager

Go to raspberrypi.com/software and download the free Raspberry Pi Imager for your computer.

Step 2 — Flash your SD card

  1. Insert your MicroSD card into your computer (use a USB adapter if needed)
  2. Open Raspberry Pi Imager
  3. Choose Device — select your Pi model
  4. Click Next
  5. Choose OS. For Pi 4 and Pi 5, the top option (with desktop) is easiest if you're not sure about SSH. If you're SSH-confident, choose "Raspberry Pi OS (other)" → Raspberry Pi OS Lite for a headless system. On a Pi Zero 2, Lite is recommended — it puts less demand on the Pi. Click Next
  6. Click Choose Storage and select your MicroSD card. Click Next
  7. Enter a hostname such as "SpotterBoard". Click Next
  8. Use the default settings, or change to suit your location. Click Next
  9. Fill in your details here and remember your password — you'll need it later for SSH! Click Next
  10. Fill in your Wi-Fi details. Click Next
  11. Important — make sure SSH is turned on (by default, as of July 2026, it already is). Click Next
  12. Leave "Raspberry Pi Connect" switched off. Click Next
  13. Review and correct any of your choices. Click Next
  14. It'll ask if you're sure about erasing the storage media — if it's the right MicroSD card, click "I understand"
  15. Wait for it to finish — this takes a few minutes
  16. When done, safely remove the MicroSD card from your computer
Using a Pi Zero 2, or a headless Pi 4/5?Skip ahead to Step 5.

Step 3 — First boot: Pi 4 or Pi 5 (Desktop)

  1. Insert the MicroSD card into your Raspberry Pi
  2. Connect the LED panel to the ribbon cable, and the other end to the Pi via the bonnet — make sure it's firmly seated on port 1 if using a Triple Bonnet (address switch to the right). You'll need the 2×20 riser header — check alignment carefully.
  3. Connect a monitor, mouse, and keyboard to the Pi
  4. Power on the LED panel with its own power supply first
  5. Then power on the Raspberry Pi
  6. Wait about 60 seconds for the Pi to fully boot and connect to your network
  7. Open Terminal from the Raspberry Pi desktop — top left of the screen, looks like a black TV screen

Step 4 — Install SpotterBoard

Now the easy part! Type these three commands one at a time, pressing Enter after each:

git clone https://github.com/MikeMakesIt/SpotterBoard cd SpotterBoard bash install.sh

The installer will ask you for:

The installer does everything automatically — a few minutes on a Pi 4 or 5, longer on a Zero 2. Just let it run. When it's done, the Pi reboots and starts SpotterBoard automatically. About 30 seconds after reboot, the display lights up with the boot screen, then starts showing live aircraft flying near you. From then on, SpotterBoard starts every time the Pi is powered on — no keyboard, mouse, or monitor needed. Enjoy!

Running headless?The next section is only for headless setups — skip ahead to Step 7 if you've just finished Step 4.

Step 5 — First boot: Pi Zero 2 (or Pi 4/5 headless)

  1. Insert the MicroSD card into your Raspberry Pi
  2. Connect the LED panel to the ribbon cable, and the other end to the Pi via the bonnet — firmly seated on port 1 if using a Triple Bonnet (address switch to the right). You'll need the 2×20 riser header — check alignment carefully.
  3. Connect a monitor if you want to — the IP address will be displayed on screen, and you'll need it shortly. Once things are up and running, you can disconnect it.
  4. Power on the LED panel with its own power supply first
  5. Then power on the Raspberry Pi
  6. Wait about 60 seconds for the Pi to fully boot and connect to your network

If you didn't plug in a monitor, you'll need to find the IP address your router gave your Pi.

Windows
  1. Press Windows key + R, type cmd, press Enter
  2. Type: ping spotterboard.local and press Enter
  3. You should see a reply with an IP address like 192.168.1.45 — note this down
  4. If that doesn't work, log into your router (usually at 192.168.1.1) and look for connected devices
Mac
  1. Open Terminal (Cmd+Space, type "terminal")
  2. Type: ping spotterboard.local and press Enter
  3. You should see a reply with an IP address — note this down
  4. Press Ctrl+C to stop the ping

Step 6 — Connect to your Pi with SSH

SSH lets you type commands into your Pi remotely from your computer — think of it as a remote control for your Pi.

Windows
  1. Press Windows key + R, type cmd, press Enter
  2. Type the following, replacing yourusername with the username you set in Step 2, and the IP address with yours: ssh yourusername@192.168.1.45
  3. First time connecting, it'll ask "Are you sure you want to continue?" — type yes and press Enter
  4. Enter the password you set in Step 2
  5. You should see a command prompt — you're in!
Mac
  1. Open Terminal (Cmd+Space, type "Terminal")
  2. Type the following, replacing yourusername with the username you set in Step 2, and the IP address with yours: ssh yourusername@192.168.1.45
  3. Type yes when asked, then enter your password
  4. You should see a command prompt — you're in!

Step 7 — Install SpotterBoard

Now the easy part! Type these five commands one at a time, pressing Enter after each. The first two install git on the Lite OS, since it's not included by default.

sudo apt update sudo apt install -y git git clone https://github.com/MikeMakesIt/SpotterBoard cd SpotterBoard bash install.sh

The installer will ask you for your latitude, longitude, and search radius — same as before. It does everything automatically: a few minutes on a Pi 4 or 5, longer on a Zero 2. When it's done, the Pi reboots and starts SpotterBoard on its own — no keyboard, mouse, or monitor needed from here on. Enjoy!

Troubleshooting

Nothing showing on the display after reboot?

Check the bonnet is firmly seated on the Pi's GPIO pins, and that the panel has its own power supply switched on.

Can't find the Pi on the network?

Double-check your Wi-Fi name and password were entered correctly in Step 2 — they're case sensitive. Try again with a freshly flashed SD card.

No aircraft showing?

You might be in a quiet area. Try increasing the search radius — connect via SSH and type:

nano ~/rpi-rgb-led-matrix/bindings/python/samples/spotterboard_config.py

Change RADIUS_MILES = 20 to a larger number, save with Ctrl+X then Y, then restart:

sudo systemctl restart spotterboard
Full project files on GitHub ← Back to About